Technologies for remotely monitoring or remotely controlling one or more target devices using one remote controller are proposed.
Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for remotely operating one or more target devices from a monitor of a television set. Specifically, icons for the one or more target devices are displayed on the right side of a monitor screen. When a desired one of the icons is selected (i), a floor plan is displayed on the left side of the monitor screen (ii). When a pointer is moved to the location of installation of a target device desired to be operated in the floor plan (iii), an operation screen for the target device selected by moving the pointer is displayed on the monitor screen (iv) (paragraphs [0138] to [0140] and FIGS. 25A and 25B).
Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for controlling one or more target devices using a single remote controller. Specifically, a floor plan of each room and the condition within the room are displayed on a liquid crystal monitor of the remote controller. For example, the liquid crystal monitor displays a illumination mark displayed in the case where an illumination device of a certain room is turned on, a room temperature mark that indicates the current temperature of a certain room, a lock mark in the shape of a hatched window displayed in the case where a window of a certain room is locked, a device/facility mark that indicates the status or the like of a control target object, a mark that indicates the amount of hot water in the case where the control target is a bath, and so forth (paragraphs [0037] to [0041] and FIG. 6).
Patent Document 3 relates to a technology for remotely controlling and remotely monitoring open/close operation and the state of an electric building material (such as a hallway door or a skylight). Specifically, a monitor screen of a personal computer displays floor plans for first and second floors of a property, a picture of the electric building material (such as a hallway door or a skylight) and a state display icon that indicates the open/close state of the electric building material are displayed at the corresponding position on the floor plans. When the state display icon is selected, an operation screen for the selected electric building material is displayed in another window. The operation screen includes an open operation button, a close operation button, an operation monitor screen, and a button for hiding the operation screen (paragraph [0025] and FIGS. 4, 5, and 6).
Patent Document 4 discloses a user interface including a floor plan and an icon. Examples of the icon include an icon representing a receptacle, an icon representing a digital image frame, and an icon representing an illumination device (FIGS. 7 and 8B).
Patent Document 5 discloses a user interface of an illumination system. When an icon associated with a certain light source is dragged into a target region on a screen and moved toward the center of the target region, the intensity of light from the corresponding light source is increased.
However, Patent Documents 1 to 5 described above need a further improvement.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-104567    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-138979    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2009-213107    Patent Document 4: U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,223    Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent No. 5128489
In one general aspect, the techniques disclosed here feature a control method for an information apparatus having a display and being connected to a network, one or more target devices being controlled over the network, the control method causing a computer of the information apparatus to:
display a display screen on the display, the display screen representing a floor plan for one floor including at least two or more rooms;
display device icons representing the one or more target devices on the display screen representing the floor plan, an illumination icon representing an illumination device among the one or more target devices being used in common in one or more rooms included in the floor plan; and
output to the network a first control command, when selection of the illumination icon is sensed, and when selection of any region within a first room among the at least two or more rooms included in the floor plan is sensed after the selection of the illumination icon is sensed, the first control command controlling on/off of power for an illumination device corresponding to the first room in which the selection is sensed.
According to the aspect described above, it is possible to embody a further improvement. These general and specific aspects may be implemented using a system, a method, and a computer program, and any combination of systems, methods, and computer programs.